Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Organic or Not?


I fight with this question constantly. Should I buy this or that organic? Is it ok to buy the "all natural" variety instead? There are certain things we'd never eat if we had to find them raised organically. I live in a smallish town with one health food store and it doesn't sell produce! Right now I am limited the the "Nature's Promise" brand at my local Giant, or I have to drive 40 mins to my nearest Wegmans.
I try to buy as much produce as I can organically. There are things I would never allow Dylan, my son, to eat unless they were organic like; strawberries, peaches, nectarines, apples.... the list goes on. What I found very surprising is that things like celery, lettuce, and bell peppers are high on the pesticide list. What I found comforting is avocados, mangos, and papaya are fairly low on the list. If I had the money, I would buy everything organic and not worry so much about it. However, working with a very limited budget these days, I find myself compromising a lot.
Here is a nice list of the fruits and veggies that are high on the residue list. http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/nutrition/a/pesticides.htm
I take the top 15 and try very hard to buy them organically. But as I said, I often have to compromise due to money or availablity.
I remember talking to my friend Marie about this issue and she said something like this, " I choose to believe that the benefit of the fruit or veggie, outweighs the harm of the pesticide." I wonder if there is any truth in this.
And what about dairy and meat? Oh boy! This is a BIG one for me. I want nothing more than to buy organic meats, but our budget doesn't allow for this. One day I hope to either have the money, or the answers.

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